Alcaraz Wins Third Grand Slam, Leads Next Generation

When Carlos Alcaraz lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires into the Parisien sky on Sunday evening, he had made history. By winning his third Grand Slam title on the French clay, the 21-year-old Spaniard had become the youngest player ever to win a major trophy on all three surfaces – hard court at the 2022 U.S. Open, grass at Wimbledon in 2023 and now clay.

Alcaraz also underlined his status as the leader of the next generation in men’s tennis, as he remains the only player under the age of 35 with more than one Grand Slam title to his name. With his triumph in Paris, he pulled level with Andy Murray (37) and Stan Wawrinka (39), who are still playing but look unlikely to win another major title at this point in their careers. 

At the other end of the net, Alexander Zverev couldn’t capitalize on his two-sets-to-one lead in the final, as a Grand Slam title continues to elude him. The 27-year-old German came painfully close once before, when he lost the final of the 2020 U.S. Open to Dominic Thiem in a fifth set tie break after winning the first two sets. As our chart shows, there are just nine active men’s players who have won a Grand Slam singles title after Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer dominated tennis’ biggest events for the better part of the past two decades.